New York, NY, December 14, 2016 – In a huge outpouring of support on December 4, people worldwide tuned in to an eight-hour, online fundraiser called the Free Ross-A-Thon aimed at raising $14,000 to cover some costs of Ulbricht’s appeal. The fundraiser surpassed all goals by raising $50,000 from donors around the globe. The largest donation of $25,000 came from bitcoin angel investor and advocate Roger Ver.

Ulbricht was sentenced to life in prison without parole, for all non-violent charges, in May, 2015 for his alleged role in the Silk Road website. He is currently appealing his conviction and sentence in the Second Circuit Court of Appeals.
The fundraiser came on the heels of Ulbricht’s legal team announcing proof of evidence tampering. A previously unknown copy of the Silk Road forum database clearly shows that someone with access to the site deleted significant portions of evidence, according to Ulbricht’s lawyers. This revelation adds another layer of complexity to a case already riddled with corruption. The team also found proof that someone other than Ulbricht used the Dread Pirate Roberts account to log into the site nearly seven weeks after Ulbricht was imprisoned. This contradicts the government’s assertion that Ulbricht was the only person using the Dread Pirate Roberts account.
Addressing this new information, Lyn Ulbricht stated, “If this back-up of the forum database had not been found; if log-ins made by DPR after Ross’ arrest were not discovered, no one would be the wiser. This begs the question: how much more is there? We may never know, as digital evidence is easily changed, planted or deleted without a trace. That my son — or anyone — would receive a life sentence based on such vulnerable evidence, especially when there is proof of corruption and tampering, is a travesty of justice.”
For more information: freeross.org
The post Proof of Evidence Tampering Sparks Worldwide Support of Ross Ulbricht appeared first on Deep Dot Web.
Source: Inoreader Tagged

I choose to parent without violence or aggression. This means I eschew various actions that a lot of parents still consider acceptable- actions such as spanking, hitting, yelling, psychotropic drugs, circumcision, and so on. In this episode, I explain my own reasons for choosing to practice peaceful parenting.Show Notes:What Is Peaceful Parenting?Parent Effectiveness Training by Thomas GordonThe Milgram ExperimentTVL Series Your Own Moral Compass Part 1 (E151), Part 2 (E152), and Part 3 (E153)Listen To Episode 272
Source: Inoreader Tagged

The Internal Revenue Service, a U.S. government agency responsible for tax collection and tax law enforcement, has requested popular bitcoin trading platform and wallet service provider Coinbase to provide personal and sensitive financial data of millions of customers over the past three years for tax filing purposes.
Various court filings have been submitted and a formal investigation was initiated by the IRS to estimate the amount of tax evaded by users on the platform. Court filings state that the IRS is formally seeking pertinent financial and personal information of all US-based Coinbase users between 2013 and 2015.
“The John Does whose identities are sought by the summons are United States persons who, at any time during the period January 1, 2013, through December 31, 2015, conducted transactions in a convertible virtual currency,” reads a memorandum written by Department of Justice attorneys and filed on Thursday, November 17.
The “John Doe” summons abovementioned in the memorandum refers to an important technique widely utilized by the IRS to obtain information on taxpayers. The IRS is not required to know the identities of the taxpayers. If a court or a judge allows the IRS to issue a John Doe summons, the organization can legally reveal all identities of a group of taxpayers.
Wood LLP partner and attorney Robert Wood among other law practitioners criticized this technique since its emergence in 2011. At the time, Wood stated. “A federal judge recently gave the IRS permission to serve a John Doe summons on California’s State Board of Equalization. The IRS wants names of Californians who gifted real property to their children or grandchildren between 2005 and 2010. The IRS believes many failed to file federal gift tax returns reporting family transfers.”
The IRS argues that the majority of users on Coinbase and other bitcoin exchanges as well as wallet platforms are not compliant with internal revenue laws. Specifically, users that fail to release reports on taxable income are punishable by law. Thus, by requesting a John Doe summons, they can legally reveal identities of Coinbase consumers during a time frame of their selection and require targeted users to pay taxes.
“There is a reasonable basis for believing these US taxpayers failed to comply with internal revenue laws. The taxpayers being investigated have not been or may not be complying with US internal revenue laws requiring the reporting of taxable income from virtual-currency transactions,” the document read.
Coinbase however expressed their concerns with the IRS John Doe summons request, stating that the company is obligated to protect the privacy of its users. While Coinbase has worked with law enforcement and authorities in the past under viable conditions, the company believes that the government’s request is inappropriate and disproportionate
In a statement to its users, the Coinbase team emphasized that it is willing to fight the IRS in court to ensure that the John Doe summons is not passed and the privacy measures of users are maintained.
“Our customers’ privacy rights are important to us and our legal team is in the process of examining the government’s petition. In its current form, we will oppose the government’s petition in court. We will continue to keep our customers informed on developments in this matter,” Coinbase stated.
The post IRS Demands Entire Coinbase User Database For Tax Purposes appeared first on Deep Dot Web.
Source: Inoreader Tagged

The medicine cabinet can provide quick relief when you’re suddenly slammed with a nasty cold or a pounding headache, but healing and long-term health don’t start at the pharmacy. A hearty immune system begins in the kitchen—which is good news, really, because vitamin-rich foods like pineapple go down a whole lot easier than cough syrup.
“What you put in your mouth can have an enormous influence on the digestive tract and the balance of healthy gut flora, which has been scientifically proven to affect all kinds of conditions from mental health to immune response,” says Sophie Manolas, clinical nutritionist and author of The Essential Edible Pharmacy, a cookbook focused on cultivating good health.
What exactly is a clinical nutritionist, you ask? The certified professionals work with doctors to help patients optimize their health through diet and lifestyle changes.
“I look at a patient’s specific condition and determine what deficiencies might be causing it,” Manolas explains. “Then I look at what they are eating in a week and figure out what I can introduce to get them the nutrients they need.” From hormonal disorders to cancer, a clinical nutritionist can identify foods that can help fuel your body in its efforts to heal.
While there will be times your body needs antibiotics and other physician-prescribed treatments, produce-aisle staples can be powerhouses, too. Even a simple, everyday vegetable like cabbage is loaded with vitamin C, Manolas points out: “The beauty of these nutrients occurring abundantly in our commonly available foods is that often, nutrients are packaged together and work synergistically to have positive effects on the body.”
So if Whole Foods is the new CVS, what exactly should you be filling your cart with? The specifics depend a bit on your health, but a common theme is vitamin-rich fruit and vegetables.
Head over to Well + Good for Manolas’ food guide to good health—no pills required.
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Source: Inoreader Tagged

In an attempt to rationalize the fact that Donald Trump has been elected as the next president of the United States, a growing movement is lashing out against “fake news sites,” even labeling them responsible for the election results.
Earlier this week, a document “False, Misleading, Clickbait-y, and/or Satirical ‘News’ Sources” was uploaded to Facebook by a user named Melissa Zimdars. The document made the rounds on social media, adding fuel to the fake news fire. Despite the fact that Zimdars’ list ironically lacks proper citation, blatantly targets right-wing outlets, and includes perfectly legitimate sites for no apparent reason, the Los Angeles Times published the false, misleading, clickbait-y document, lending it an air of legitimacy.
The irony in the assistant professor’s project is that it mirrors everything she is warning others about. Although it is prefaced with a disclaimer, the document is being shared by “legitimate” news outlets as a legitimate report. Some of it is true and some of it is cited, but overall, it’s a poor resource to rely on for guidance on reputable news outlets. It almost makes one wonder if this young teacher is conducting her own social experiment to see how seriously people will take a Google document uploaded to Facebook.
Fake news sites are certainly problematic in a world where the majority of people get their news from social networks; a good portion of those people don’t even read articles before sharing them. Facebook and Google have responded to the hysteria by announcing their decision to ban what they deem to be fake news sites from their advertising platforms. This is a cause for concern for many reasons.
As Edward Snowden pointed out, “[t]o have one company that has enough power to reshape the way we think, I don’t think I need to describe how dangerous that is.” Snowden addressed the fake news issue in detail via Beambot at Fusion’s Real Future Fair on Tuesday.
“I don’t think many people need to have this explained to them, that when you type something into the Google search box, it’s Google that decides what you get back. When you go to your Facebook page, it’s Facebook that decides what news it is that you see on your page. When you go to a platform like Twitter, or any of these, really, the voices that are heard are the ones that are selected and permitted by the corporation.”
He identifies the source of the problem as a lack of competition. “There seems to be no alternative to the larger services. Because of this network effect, because [of] the first mover advantage. When you get a Google or a Facebook or Twitter in place, they never seem to leave.”
His solution? Don’t rely on Facebook for your news. By banning websites from their platform, they are essentially telling users they aren’t intelligent enough to decide for themselves what is and is not news. As Snowden put it, “they’re creating more silence than they are creating more speech.”
By: Josie Wales From: The Anti Media
The post Snowden to the World: Stop Letting Facebook Control Your News appeared first on Counter Current News.
Source: Inoreader Tagged